Bug,  Tis the Season

tis the season for creative expression

December 13, 2008 /

tis the season

I secretly love addressing Christmas cards. Sometimes when I’m fifty or so in, I start to get hand cramps and not love it so much but that doesn’t really stop me from loving the whole process. I love what I suffer for. I love to work on my penmanship. I could slap a label on the outside and scrawl an “xo” after a printed message but that’s not my style.

Of course more than half of the Christmas cards that I’ve already written, stuffed and sealed are NOT my best work. In fact, they are quite sloppy. Writing in pen is sooo permanent! There is no backspace! Sometimes I leave out letters and have to go back and squeeze them in all tacky-like. Also, I chose to stamp my greeting this year and stamping is messy!

Bug helps

Then there’s Bug who likes to assist me in all that I do. She “helps” me by bouncing off the couch onto my back as I lean over coffee table scrawling out my thoughtful messages. She helps by climbing on my lap via a hand-hold on my writing arm and then of course there are the 101 interruptions to go find something that she can’t find ANYWHERE!… it’s all been a challenge to say the least.

But I have to admit, when she writes “HO” in big scrawly letters right in the middle where I was going to write, it’s priceless. Some of you will get very personal messages from Bug, some of you will not. We had to let the creative energy flow where it would.

22 Comments

  • MargieK

    December 13, 2008 at 10:54 am

    Yes, I am exactly that way too — enjoying the whole process, getting cramps in the hands, all the while thinking fondly of the people I’m addressing the card to, remembering things we’ve done together or how we met in the first place…

    Except that my “kids” are in college (one at living at home, one just got home for break), and it’s the dogs, who abruptly nudge my arm because they want their neck rubbed, or have needs related to eating or “going outside.”

    A bug-scrawled “Ho” is much more precious and acceptable than an accidental scribble due to a persistent canine. :)

  • Mela

    December 13, 2008 at 1:21 pm

    Ooooh, your cards look so simple and pretty. I might be influenced by you as I have not even taken the photo yet for my cards, let alone put them together and addressed them! I better get busy!

  • lynne

    December 13, 2008 at 1:50 pm

    Ach’t I am wracked with guilt I am late with my Canadian family cards and have a nasty suspicion the final postage date was last monday. Thanks for the reminder to gt on with the job Secret Agent Jo.

  • nikoline

    December 13, 2008 at 6:01 pm

    Your cards look amazing. Were they different photographs that you mounted? What did you use to glue them…I need so many instructions when it comes to cool, creative stuff.

  • Gayle

    December 13, 2008 at 7:42 pm

    Bug’s personal message is great! The cards are so cute. Brenda, you are amazing. When my kids were little, people were lucky to get a store bought card from us!

  • Susan

    December 13, 2008 at 8:23 pm

    Oh don’t you love the Nutcracker stamps? I love mine and I loved my new self ink stamping address. Fun fun fun. Bug did a good job on her part.

  • Jennifer

    December 14, 2008 at 9:04 am

    HO, hahahaha. I love it!

    I’m starting to write my journal by hand and I used your exact same words in my first entry “there is no backspace when writing.” Great minds?? :P

    I really enjoy writing anything. I love to address cards. When I was a secretary at an elementary school my job was to write out all the certificates and address any outgoing mail. It was my most favorite thing to do.

    Oddly, even though I love the process, I didn’t do any Christmas cards this year. I’m a dork! Yours look really nice.

  • Sarah

    December 15, 2008 at 11:32 am

    Can you show us what you did for cards?

    This is the first time I did them, and I just printed off the standard holiday photo cards from Sam’s Club – I like them, but since they had to shrink the photo, you can barely see my son! I don’t know why I feel the photo has to be Christmassy, so this was the only one I had – but obviously it doesn’t have to be!

    I love looking at the crafty projects you do (my current favorite is the lemon wrapping paper!). Fabulous!

  • BeachMama

    December 16, 2008 at 6:39 pm

    Awesome ‘Ho’. Bug has your talent that is for sure. I too love the whole process of Christmas cards. I did mine a bit late this year but they will all be in the mail tomorrow morning no matter what.